Gun sling



Nov. 6, 1951 COLBY 2,574,143

. GUN SLING Filed June 23, 1950 INVENTOR. MERRILL K. COLBY BY ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 6, 1 951 UNITED STATESATENT OFFICE.

GUN SLING Merrill K. Colby, Sparta, Mich.

Application June 23, 1950, Serial No. 169,994 I This invention relates to supporting devices for carrying a gun, and more particularly to a slin device adapted to be worn by a hunter and arranged for supporting a gun in a convenient position.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved gun-supporting device which is very simple in construction, which relieves the hunter of the necessity of carrying the gun in his arms and distributes the weight of the gun over his neck and shoulders, and which provides a convenient and comfortable support for the gun without interfering with its normal use in any way.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved gun-supportin device for use by hunters, said device being inexpensive to manufacture, being provided with means to maintain the main supporting element thereof in a substantially stationary position and to prevent it from swinging away from the hunter's body at all times, and which is arranged to embracingly support the gun without causing scratching or other damage to the gun.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view showing a hunter wearing an improved gun support according to the present invention and showing the manner in which the gun is supported in said improved support;

Figure 2 is an enlarged front elevational detail view of the main supporting element of the improved un support of Figure 1, said view showing the end portions of the supporting strap attached to the main supporting element;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of a portion of one of the side arms of the main supporting element showing one of the articulated hooks connected thereto, as employed in the improved gun supporting device of Figures 1 to 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is an enlarged horizontal cross-sectional view taken through a side portion of the main supporting element of the gun-supporting device of Figures 1 to 4, showing the articulated hook attached thereto engaged with a portion of a hunters clothing to prevent swaying of the gun support.

Referring to the drawings, II designates the 2 Claims. (01. 2241) main supporting element of the device, said main supporting element comprising a single piece of malleable tubing or the like, such as copper tub-5 ing, bent into loop form, the ends of the piece of tubing being welded, brazed or soldered together, as shown at I2. The member II is bent to define a pair of hook-shaped side arms I3, I3 parallel to each other and spaced apart, the top ends of said side arms being connected by a transverse, horizontal arm element I4 which includes the rigid joint I2, and the lower ends of the hook-shaped side arms I3, I3 being connected by a substantially horizontally extending, transverse arm member indicated at I5. As shown in Figure 2, the transverse arm element I5 is. bowed upwardly to a slight degree, thereby defining an arcuate connecting element rather than a perfectly straight connectin element. Designated at I6 is a flexible strap of canvas or the like, said strap being of substantial width, the ends of the strap being connected, adjacent each other, ,to the top'arm I4 of the member II, as shown at I! and I8. The strap I6 may be provided with any suitable means for adjusting the length thereof, such as a conventional buckle, or other suitable conventional means, such as the hooks shown at I9 in Figure 2, which are arranged to engage respective sets of eyes provided along the length of the strap I6, whereby the strap I6 may be adjusted in length in accordance with the requirements of the individual hunter.

Surrounding the lower portions of the side arms I3 and the cross member I5 is a wrapping of suitable flexible covering material, such as fabric or the like, indicated at 20, which is provided in order to protect a gun supported on the member II against scratches or other damage by contact with the surfaces of the cradle defined by said member II. The wrapping 20 is preferably wound spirally, as shown in Figure 2, whereby when said wrapping becomes worn it may be readily removed and a new wrapping may be wound on the cradle member II.

Pivotally connected to the rear portions of the side arms I3, I3 are respective hooks, designated generally at ZI, the pivotal connections of the hooks to the side arms being shown at 22. The hooks 2I may be jointed or articulated at 23, or may be completely rigid and unjointed, while still being pivotally connected to the side arms I3, I3 at 22.

In using the device, a hunter wears the strap I6 around his neck in the manner shOWn in Figure 1, whereby the strap bears evenly on both shoulders of the hunter. The gun is supported in the cradle member II, as shown in Figure 1, the cradle member Ii being located immediately below the center of gravity of the gun, whereby the gun rests in said cradle member in a substantially balanced manner. The hooks 2| are each engaged with the clothing laterally adjacent to the cradle II, in the manner shown in Figure 6, whereby the cradle II is secured against lateral swaying or forward swaying, enabling the hunter to carry the gun in the support device while stooplng or bending without the gun swinging away from the hunter's body.

The supporting devices may be made in different colors to match the difierent colors of hunting clothes, whereby the sling device may be worn inconspicuously by the hunter.

By employing malleable tubing for the cradle member II, the weight of said cradle member is minimized, and the member may be readily formed to a proper shape to fit the individual gun of the hunter using the device.

The use of the sling device described above relieves the hunter of the necessity of carrying the gun in his arms and distributes the weight of the gun over his neck and shoulders, whereby the gun may be carried in a comfortable manner without strain on the hunter's arms. The supportdevice does not in any way interfere with the normal use of the gun, inasmuch as the gun may be removed therefrom whenever required by merely lifting the gun out of the cradle member II.

While a specific embodiment of an improved gun-supporting device has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the insaid hooks, said hooks being adapted to supportingly receive a gun in substantially horizontal position, a fabric cover wrapped around the lower portions of said main hooks and the lower bar element, a flexible strap connected at its respective ends to the upper bar element, said strap being adapted to be received around the neck of the wearer, and respective smaller hooks arranged longitudinally of and in back of said main hooks adjacent and spaced from the upper ends thereof with the lower ends positioned opposite and facing away from the bottom ends of said main hooks and each pivotally connected at its upper end to the adjacent main hook for movement about an axis transverse of the latter, the lower ends of said smaller hooks being sharpened and being engageable with the clothing or the wearer to secure the main hooks against swinging.

2. A gun support comprising a closed loop member formed of tubular metal and arranged to define a pair of spaced parallel hook elements connected at their top and bottom ends by transverse bar elements, said hook elements being adapted to supportingly receive a gun in substantially horizontal position, a fabric cover wrapped spirally around the lower portions of said hook elements and the lower transverse bar element, a flexible strap connected at its respective ends to the top transverse bar element, said strap being adapted to be received around the neck of the wearer, and respective smaller hooks arranged longitudinally of and in back of said main hooks adjacent .and spaced from the upper ends thereof with the lower ends positioned opposite and facing away from the bottom ends of said main hooks and each pivotally connected at its upper end to the adjacent main hook for movement about an axis transverse of the latter, the lower ends of said smaller hooks being sharpened and being engageable with the clothing of the wearer to secure the first-mentioned hook elements against swinging.

MERRILL K. COLBY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

, UNITED STATES PATENTS Number I 

